1
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Gray C, Kailas L, Adams PG, Duffy CDP. Unravelling the fluorescence kinetics of light-harvesting proteins with simulated measurements. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOENERGETICS 2024; 1865:149004. [PMID: 37699505 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2023.149004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
The plant light-harvesting pigment-protein complex LHCII is the major antenna sub-unit of PSII and is generally (though not universally) accepted to play a role in photoprotective energy dissipation under high light conditions, a process known Non-Photochemical Quenching (NPQ). The underlying mechanisms of energy trapping and dissipation within LHCII are still debated. Various models have been proposed for the underlying molecular detail of NPQ, but they are often based on different interpretations of very similar transient absorption measurements of isolated complexes. Here we present a simulated measurement of the fluorescence decay kinetics of quenched LHCII aggregates to determine whether this relatively simple measurement can discriminate between different potential NPQ mechanisms. We simulate not just the underlying physics (excitation, energy migration, quenching and singlet-singlet annihilation) but also the signal detection and typical experimental data analysis. Comparing this to a selection of published fluorescence decay kinetics we find that: (1) Different proposed quenching mechanisms produce noticeably different fluorescence kinetics even at low (annihilation free) excitation density, though the degree of difference is dependent on pulse width. (2) Measured decay kinetics are consistent with most LHCII trimers becoming relatively slow excitation quenchers. A small sub-population of very fast quenchers produces kinetics which do not resemble any observed measurement. (3) It is necessary to consider at least two distinct quenching mechanisms in order to accurately reproduce experimental kinetics, supporting the idea that NPQ is not a simple binary switch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Callum Gray
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Lekshmi Kailas
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Peter G Adams
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher D P Duffy
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom.
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2
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Dewa T, Kimoto K, Kasagi G, Harada H, Sumino A, Kondo M. Functional Coupling of Biohybrid Photosynthetic Antennae and Reaction Center Complexes: Quantitative Comparison with Native Antennae. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:10315-10325. [PMID: 38015096 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c04922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Light-harvesting (LH) complexes in photosynthetic organisms absorb photons within limited wavelength ranges over a broad solar spectrum. Extension of the LH wavelength has been realized by attaching artificial fluorophores to LH complexes (biohybrid LH complexes) for complementing the limited-wavelength regions. However, how efficiently such fluorophores in biohybrid LH complexes function to drive the photocatalytic reaction center (RC) has not been quantitatively evaluated, specifically in comparison with native LH antenna complexes. In this study, we prepared various biohybrid LH1-RC complexes (from Rhodopseudomonas palustris), to quantitatively evaluate the LH activity of the attached external chromophores through a photocurrent generation reaction by LH1-RC on an electrode. For a direct comparison of the LH activity among the LH chromophores that were examined, we introduced the k1 term, which represents the extent of the functional coupling of LH and the photochemical reactions in the RC. We determined that the hydrophobic fluorophore ATTO647N attached to LH1 possesses the highest LH activity among the examined hydrophilic fluorophores such as Alexa647, and its activity is comparable to that of native LH1(-RC). The LH activity of LH2 (from Rhodoblastus acidophilus strain 10050) and its biohybrid LH2s were examined for the comprehensive assessment of their LH activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takehisa Dewa
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8555, Japan
| | - Komei Kimoto
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8555, Japan
| | - Genki Kasagi
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8555, Japan
| | - Hiromi Harada
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8555, Japan
| | - Ayumi Sumino
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8555, Japan
| | - Masaharu Kondo
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8555, Japan
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3
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Meredith SA, Kusunoki Y, Connell SD, Morigaki K, Evans SD, Adams PG. Self-Quenching Behavior of a Fluorescent Probe Incorporated within Lipid Membranes Explored Using Electrophoresis and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:1715-1727. [PMID: 36802586 PMCID: PMC9986866 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c07652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
Fluorescent probes are useful in biophysics research to assess the spatial distribution, mobility, and interactions of biomolecules. However, fluorophores can undergo "self-quenching" of their fluorescence intensity at high concentrations. A greater understanding of concentration-quenching effects is important for avoiding artifacts in fluorescence images and relevant to energy transfer processes in photosynthesis. Here, we show that an electrophoresis technique can be used to control the migration of charged fluorophores associated with supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) and that quenching effects can be quantified with fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). Confined SLBs containing controlled quantities of lipid-linked Texas Red (TR) fluorophores were generated within 100 × 100 μm corral regions on glass substrates. Application of an electric field in-plane with the lipid bilayer induced the migration of negatively charged TR-lipid molecules toward the positive electrode and created a lateral concentration gradient across each corral. The self-quenching of TR was directly observed in FLIM images as a correlation of high concentrations of fluorophores to reductions in their fluorescence lifetime. By varying the initial concentration of TR fluorophores incorporated into the SLBs from 0.3% to 0.8% (mol/mol), the maximum concentration of fluorophores reached during electrophoresis could be modulated from 2% up to 7% (mol/mol), leading to the reduction of fluorescence lifetime down to 30% and quenching of the fluorescence intensity down to 10% of their original levels. As part of this work, we demonstrated a method for converting fluorescence intensity profiles into molecular concentration profiles by correcting for quenching effects. The calculated concentration profiles have a good fit to an exponential growth function, suggesting that TR-lipids can diffuse freely even at high concentrations. Overall, these findings prove that electrophoresis is effective at producing microscale concentration gradients of a molecule-of-interest and that FLIM is an excellent approach to interrogate dynamic changes to molecular interactions via their photophysical state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie A Meredith
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U. K.,Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U. K
| | - Yuka Kusunoki
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - Simon D Connell
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U. K.,Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U. K
| | - Kenichi Morigaki
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science and Biosignal Research Center, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - Stephen D Evans
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U. K.,Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U. K
| | - Peter G Adams
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U. K.,Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U. K
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4
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Hancock AM, Swainsbury DJK, Meredith SA, Morigaki K, Hunter CN, Adams PG. Enhancing the spectral range of plant and bacterial light-harvesting pigment-protein complexes with various synthetic chromophores incorporated into lipid vesicles. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY. B, BIOLOGY 2022; 237:112585. [PMID: 36334507 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2022.112585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The Light-Harvesting (LH) pigment-protein complexes found in photosynthetic organisms have the role of absorbing solar energy with high efficiency and transferring it to reaction centre complexes. LH complexes contain a suite of pigments that each absorb light at specific wavelengths, however, the natural combinations of pigments within any one protein complex do not cover the full range of solar radiation. Here, we provide an in-depth comparison of the relative effectiveness of five different organic "dye" molecules (Texas Red, ATTO, Cy7, DiI, DiR) for enhancing the absorption range of two different LH membrane protein complexes (the major LHCII from plants and LH2 from purple phototrophic bacteria). Proteoliposomes were self-assembled from defined mixtures of lipids, proteins and dye molecules and their optical properties were quantified by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Both lipid-linked dyes and alternative lipophilic dyes were found to be effective excitation energy donors to LH protein complexes, without the need for direct chemical or generic modification of the proteins. The Förster theory parameters (e.g., spectral overlap) were compared between each donor-acceptor combination and found to be good predictors of an effective dye-protein combination. At the highest dye-to-protein ratios tested (over 20:1), the effective absorption strength integrated over the full spectral range was increased to ∼180% of its natural level for both LH complexes. Lipophilic dyes could be inserted into pre-formed membranes although their effectiveness was found to depend upon favourable physicochemical interactions. Finally, we demonstrated that these dyes can also be effective at increasing the spectral range of surface-supported models of photosynthetic membranes, using fluorescence microscopy. The results of this work provide insight into the utility of self-assembled lipid membranes and the great flexibility of LH complexes for interacting with different dyes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M Hancock
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK; Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - David J K Swainsbury
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK; School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Sophie A Meredith
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK; Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Kenichi Morigaki
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science and Biosignal Research Center, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - C Neil Hunter
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Peter G Adams
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK; Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
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5
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Hirschi S, Ward TR, Meier WP, Müller DJ, Fotiadis D. Synthetic Biology: Bottom-Up Assembly of Molecular Systems. Chem Rev 2022; 122:16294-16328. [PMID: 36179355 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The bottom-up assembly of biological and chemical components opens exciting opportunities to engineer artificial vesicular systems for applications with previously unmet requirements. The modular combination of scaffolds and functional building blocks enables the engineering of complex systems with biomimetic or new-to-nature functionalities. Inspired by the compartmentalized organization of cells and organelles, lipid or polymer vesicles are widely used as model membrane systems to investigate the translocation of solutes and the transduction of signals by membrane proteins. The bottom-up assembly and functionalization of such artificial compartments enables full control over their composition and can thus provide specifically optimized environments for synthetic biological processes. This review aims to inspire future endeavors by providing a diverse toolbox of molecular modules, engineering methodologies, and different approaches to assemble artificial vesicular systems. Important technical and practical aspects are addressed and selected applications are presented, highlighting particular achievements and limitations of the bottom-up approach. Complementing the cutting-edge technological achievements, fundamental aspects are also discussed to cater to the inherently diverse background of the target audience, which results from the interdisciplinary nature of synthetic biology. The engineering of proteins as functional modules and the use of lipids and block copolymers as scaffold modules for the assembly of functionalized vesicular systems are explored in detail. Particular emphasis is placed on ensuring the controlled assembly of these components into increasingly complex vesicular systems. Finally, all descriptions are presented in the greater context of engineering valuable synthetic biological systems for applications in biocatalysis, biosensing, bioremediation, or targeted drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Hirschi
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, Bühlstrasse 28, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.,Molecular Systems Engineering, National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR), 4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Thomas R Ward
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Ring 19, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.,Molecular Systems Engineering, National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR), 4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Wolfgang P Meier
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Ring 19, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.,Molecular Systems Engineering, National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR), 4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Daniel J Müller
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.,Molecular Systems Engineering, National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR), 4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dimitrios Fotiadis
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, Bühlstrasse 28, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.,Molecular Systems Engineering, National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR), 4002 Basel, Switzerland
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6
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Yoneda Y, Kito M, Mori D, Goto A, Kondo M, Miyasaka H, Nagasawa Y, Dewa T. Ultrafast Energy Transfer between Self-Assembled Fluorophore and Photosynthetic Light-Harvesting Complex 2 (LH2) in Lipid Bilayer. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:095101. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0077910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Masaharu Kondo
- Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Miyasaka
- Frontier Materials Science, Osaka University Graduate School of Engineering Science School of Engineering Science, Japan
| | - Yutaka Nagasawa
- College of Lifesciences, Ritsumeikan University College of Life Sciences Graduate School of Life Sciences, Japan
| | - Takehisa Dewa
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan
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7
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Hancock AM, Son M, Nairat M, Wei T, Jeuken LJC, Duffy CDP, Schlau-Cohen GS, Adams PG. Ultrafast energy transfer between lipid-linked chromophores and plant light-harvesting complex II. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:19511-19524. [PMID: 34524278 PMCID: PMC8442836 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp01628h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Light-Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) is a membrane protein found in plant chloroplasts that has the crucial role of absorbing solar energy and subsequently performing excitation energy transfer to the reaction centre subunits of Photosystem II. LHCII provides strong absorption of blue and red light, however, it has minimal absorption in the green spectral region where solar irradiance is maximal. In a recent proof-of-principle study, we enhanced the absorption in this spectral range by developing a biohybrid system where LHCII proteins together with lipid-linked Texas Red (TR) chromophores were assembled into lipid membrane vesicles. The utility of these systems was limited by significant LHCII quenching due to protein-protein interactions and heterogeneous lipid structures. Here, we organise TR and LHCII into a lipid nanodisc, which provides a homogeneous, well-controlled platform to study the interactions between TR molecules and single LHCII complexes. Fluorescence spectroscopy determined that TR-to-LHCII energy transfer has an efficiency of at least 60%, resulting in a 262% enhancement of LHCII fluorescence in the 525-625 nm range, two-fold greater than in the previous system. Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy revealed two time constants of 3.7 and 128 ps for TR-to-LHCII energy transfer. Structural modelling and theoretical calculations indicate that these timescales correspond to TR-lipids that are loosely- or tightly-associated with the protein, respectively, with estimated TR-to-LHCII separations of ∼3.5 nm and ∼1 nm. Overall, we demonstrate that a nanodisc-based biohybrid system provides an idealised platform to explore the photophysical interactions between extrinsic chromophores and membrane proteins with potential applications in understanding more complex natural or artificial photosynthetic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M Hancock
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. .,Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Minjung Son
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Muath Nairat
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Tiejun Wei
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Lars J C Jeuken
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.,Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.,Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Christopher D P Duffy
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Gabriela S Schlau-Cohen
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Peter G Adams
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. .,Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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8
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Elias E, Liguori N, Saga Y, Schäfers J, Croce R. Harvesting Far-Red Light with Plant Antenna Complexes Incorporating Chlorophyll d. Biomacromolecules 2021; 22:3313-3322. [PMID: 34269578 PMCID: PMC8356222 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.1c00435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Increasing the absorption cross section of plants by introducing far-red absorbing chlorophylls (Chls) has been proposed as a strategy to boost crop yields. To make this strategy effective, these Chls should bind to the photosynthetic complexes without altering their functional architecture. To investigate if plant-specific antenna complexes can provide the protein scaffold to accommodate these Chls, we have reconstituted the main light-harvesting complex (LHC) of plants LHCII in vitro and in silico, with Chl d. The results demonstrate that LHCII can bind Chl d in a number of binding sites, shifting the maximum absorption ∼25 nm toward the red with respect to the wild-type complex (LHCII with Chl a and b) while maintaining the native LHC architecture. Ultrafast spectroscopic measurements show that the complex is functional in light harvesting and excitation energy transfer. Overall, we here demonstrate that it is possible to obtain plant LHCs with enhanced far-red absorption and intact functional properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduard Elias
- Department
of Physics and Astronomy and Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics,
Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nicoletta Liguori
- Department
of Physics and Astronomy and Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics,
Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Yoshitaka Saga
- Department
of Physics and Astronomy and Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics,
Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kindai University, Higashi-Osaka 577-8502, Osaka, Japan
| | - Judith Schäfers
- Department
of Physics and Astronomy and Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics,
Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Roberta Croce
- Department
of Physics and Astronomy and Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics,
Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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9
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Xuan M, Li J. Photosystem II-based biomimetic assembly for enhanced photosynthesis. Natl Sci Rev 2021; 8:nwab051. [PMID: 34691712 PMCID: PMC8363332 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwab051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Photosystem II (PSII) is a fascinating photosynthesis-involved enzyme, participating in sunlight-harvest, water splitting, oxygen release, and proton/electron generation and transfer. Scientists have been inspired to couple PSII with synthetic hierarchical structures via biomimetic assembly, facilitating attainment of natural photosynthesis processes, such as photocatalytic water splitting, electron transfer and ATP synthesis, in vivo. In the past decade, there has been significant progress in PSII-based biomimetic systems, such as artificial chloroplasts and photoelectrochemical cells. The biomimetic assembly approach helps PSII gather functions and properties from synthetic materials, resulting in a complex with partly natural and partly synthetic components. PSII-based biomimetic assembly offers opportunities to forward semi-biohybrid research and synchronously inspire optimization of artificial light-harvest micro/nanodevices. This review summarizes recent studies on how PSII combines with artificial structures via molecular assembly and highlights PSII-based semi-natural biosystems which arise from synthetic parts and natural components. Moreover, we discuss the challenges and remaining problems for PSII-based systems and the outlook for their development and applications. We believe this topic provides inspiration for rational designs to develop biomimetic PSII-based semi-natural devices and further reveal the secrets of energy conversion within natural photosynthesis from the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingjun Xuan
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), CAS Key Lab of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Junbai Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), CAS Key Lab of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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10
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Meredith SA, Yoneda T, Hancock AM, Connell SD, Evans SD, Morigaki K, Adams PG. Model Lipid Membranes Assembled from Natural Plant Thylakoids into 2D Microarray Patterns as a Platform to Assess the Organization and Photophysics of Light-Harvesting Proteins. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2021; 17:e2006608. [PMID: 33690933 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202006608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Natural photosynthetic "thylakoid" membranes found in green plants contain a large network of light-harvesting (LH) protein complexes. Rearrangement of this photosynthetic machinery, laterally within stacked membranes called "grana", alters protein-protein interactions leading to changes in the energy balance within the system. Preparation of an experimentally accessible model system that allows the detailed investigation of these complex interactions can be achieved by interfacing thylakoid membranes and synthetic lipids into a template comprised of polymerized lipids in a 2D microarray pattern on glass surfaces. This paper uses this system to interrogate the behavior of LH proteins at the micro- and nanoscale and assesses the efficacy of this model. A combination of fluorescence lifetime imaging and atomic force microscopy reveals the differences in photophysical state and lateral organization between native thylakoid and hybrid membranes, the mechanism of LH protein incorporation into the developing hybrid membranes, and the nanoscale structure of the system. The resulting model system within each corral is a high-quality supported lipid bilayer that incorporates laterally mobile LH proteins. Photosynthetic activity is assessed in the hybrid membranes versus proteoliposomes, revealing that commonly used photochemical assays to test the electron transfer activity of photosystem II may actually produce false-positive results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie A Meredith
- School of Physics and Astronomy and The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Takuro Yoneda
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science and Biosignal Research Center, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan
| | - Ashley M Hancock
- School of Physics and Astronomy and The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Simon D Connell
- School of Physics and Astronomy and The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Stephen D Evans
- School of Physics and Astronomy and The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Kenichi Morigaki
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science and Biosignal Research Center, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan
| | - Peter G Adams
- School of Physics and Astronomy and The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
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11
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Aggregation-related quenching of LHCII fluorescence in liposomes revealed by single-molecule spectroscopy. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY 2021; 218:112174. [PMID: 33799009 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2021.112174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Incorporation of membrane proteins into reconstituted lipid membranes is a common approach for studying their structure and function relationship in a native-like environment. In this work, we investigated fluorescence properties of liposome-reconstituted major light-harvesting complexes of plants (LHCII). By utilizing liposome labelling with the fluorescent dye molecules and single-molecule microscopy techniques, we were able to study truly liposome-reconstituted LHCII and compare them with bulk measurements and liposome-free LHCII aggregates bound to the surface. Our results showed that fluorescence lifetime obtained in bulk and in single liposome measurements were correlated. The fluorescence lifetimes of LHCII were shorter for liposome-free LHCII than for reconstituted LHCII. In the case of liposome-reconstituted LHCII, fluorescence lifetime showed dependence on the protein density reminiscent to concentration quenching. The dependence of fluorescence lifetime of LHCII on the liposome size was not significant. Our results demonstrated that fluorescence quenching can be induced by LHCII - LHCII interactions in reconstituted membranes, most likely occurring via the same mechanism as photoprotective non-photochemical quenching in vivo.
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12
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Pannwitz A, Saaring H, Beztsinna N, Li X, Siegler MA, Bonnet S. Mimicking Photosystem I with a Transmembrane Light Harvester and Energy Transfer-Induced Photoreduction in Phospholipid Bilayers. Chemistry 2021; 27:3013-3018. [PMID: 32743875 PMCID: PMC7898337 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202003391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Photosystem I (PS I) is a transmembrane protein that assembles perpendicular to the membrane, and performs light harvesting, energy transfer, and electron transfer to a final, water-soluble electron acceptor. We present here a supramolecular model of it formed by a bicationic oligofluorene 12+ bound to the bisanionic photoredox catalyst eosin Y (EY2- ) in phospholipid bilayers. According to confocal microscopy, molecular modeling, and time dependent density functional theory calculations, 12+ prefers to align perpendicularly to the lipid bilayer. In presence of EY2- , a strong complex is formed (Ka =2.1±0.1×106 m-1 ), which upon excitation of 12+ leads to efficient energy transfer to EY2- . Follow-up electron transfer from the excited state of EY2- to the water-soluble electron donor EDTA was shown via UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. Overall, controlled self-assembly and photochemistry within the membrane provides an unprecedented yet simple synthetic functional mimic of PS I.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Pannwitz
- Leiden UniversityLeiden Institute of ChemistryEinsteinweg 55, 2333CCLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Holden Saaring
- Leiden UniversityLeiden Institute of ChemistryEinsteinweg 55, 2333CCLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Nataliia Beztsinna
- Leiden UniversityLeiden Institute of ChemistryEinsteinweg 55, 2333CCLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Xinmeng Li
- Leiden UniversityLeiden Institute of ChemistryEinsteinweg 55, 2333CCLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Maxime A. Siegler
- Johns Hopkins UniversityDepartment of ChemistryMaryland21218BaltimoreUSA
| | - Sylvestre Bonnet
- Leiden UniversityLeiden Institute of ChemistryEinsteinweg 55, 2333CCLeidenThe Netherlands
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Abstract
Transmembrane proteins involved in metabolic redox reactions and photosynthesis catalyse a plethora of key energy-conversion processes and are thus of great interest for bioelectrocatalysis-based applications. The development of membrane protein modified electrodes has made it possible to efficiently exchange electrons between proteins and electrodes, allowing mechanistic studies and potentially applications in biofuels generation and energy conversion. Here, we summarise the most common electrode modification and their characterisation techniques for membrane proteins involved in biofuels conversion and semi-artificial photosynthesis. We discuss the challenges of applications of membrane protein modified electrodes for bioelectrocatalysis and comment on emerging methods and future directions, including recent advances in membrane protein reconstitution strategies and the development of microbial electrosynthesis and whole-cell semi-artificial photosynthesis.
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Yoneda T, Tanimoto Y, Takagi D, Morigaki K. Photosynthetic Model Membranes of Natural Plant Thylakoid Embedded in a Patterned Polymeric Lipid Bilayer. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2020; 36:5863-5871. [PMID: 32390435 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c00613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Thylakoid membranes in the chloroplast of plants, algae, and cyanobacteria are the powerhouse of photosynthesis, capturing solar energy and converting it into chemical energy. Although their structures and functions have been extensively studied, the intrinsically heterogeneous and dynamic nature of the membrane structures is still not fully understood. Investigating native thylakoid membranes in vivo is difficult due to their small size and limited external access to the chloroplast interior, while the bottom-up approaches based on model systems have been hampered by the sheer complexity of the native membrane. Here, we try to fill the gap by reconstituting the whole thylakoid membrane into a patterned substrate-supported planer bilayer. A mixture of thylakoid membrane purified from spinach leaves and synthetic phospholipid 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) vesicles spontaneously formed a laterally continuous and fluid two-dimensional (2D) membrane in the scaffold of the patterned polymeric bilayer. Chlorophyll fluorescence arising from photosystem II (PSII) recovered after photobleaching, suggesting that the membrane components are laterally mobile. The reversible changes of chlorophyll fluorescence in the presence of the electron acceptors and/or inhibitors indicated that the electron transfer activity of PSII was retained. Furthermore, we confirmed the electron transfer activity of photosystem I (PSI) by observing the generation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) in the presence of water-soluble ferredoxin and ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase. The lateral mobility of membrane-bound molecules and the functional reconstitution of major photosystems provide evidence that our hybrid thylakoid membranes could be an excellent experimental platform to study the 2D molecular organization and machinery of photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuro Yoneda
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - Yasushi Tanimoto
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - Daisuke Takagi
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Aoba 468-1, Aranaki, Aoba, Sendai 980-0845, Japan
| | - Kenichi Morigaki
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
- Biosignal Research Center, Kobe University, Rokkodaicho 1-1, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
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